YOU ARE A UNIVERSE by Ryan Wild featuring Juundaal Strang-Yettica

Created specifically for MAP mima as part of National Science Week 2025, YOU ARE A UNIVERSE is an immersive 360-degree projection experience that invites audiences on a poetic journey through the solar system and beyond. Combining expansive celestial imagery, contemplative sound design, and evocative narration by Juundaal Strang-Yettica, the work transforms scientific knowledge into a deeply personal meditation on our place within the cosmos.

Blending astronomy, mythology, and reflection, the work traverses the planets of our solar system, drawing parallels between their unique characteristics and the human experience. Each celestial body becomes a metaphor for identity, resilience, transformation, and connection, culminating in the affirmation that we are not separate from the universe but intrinsically part of it. Through lyrical storytelling, viewers are encouraged to see themselves as simultaneously vast and intimate: “You are planets and you are dust... You are a universe.

Presented within MAP mima’s immersive projection cube, the work envelops audiences in a continuously unfolding visual landscape that shifts between the microscopic and the infinite. Planetary surfaces, nebulae, starlight, and deep space become an environment for contemplation, where scientific discovery and creative expression coexist. Rather than presenting astronomy as a collection of facts, YOU ARE A UNIVERSE offers an emotional encounter with the cosmos, encouraging curiosity, wonder, and a renewed appreciation of Earth’s place within an ever-changing universe.

Join us for the opening | Saturday 8 August 12-2pm

Exhibitions dates | 7 - 30 August 2026

Ryan Wild is an emerging multidisciplinary artist, producer, and composer creating on unceded Awabakal and Worimi Country. His practice explores liminal spaces, non-linear time, and symbolism through immersive visual and sonic experiences. The work features narration by Juundaal Strang-Yettica, a Yugambeh-Bundjalung and Kannakan artist living on Wodi Wodi Country, whose cross-disciplinary practice spans performance, video, community engagement, and storytelling, with a focus on nature, connection, and social change.

Venue: Multi-Arts Pavilion (MAP mima) Lake Macquarie